The Secret
by Inunanna - Nanna Parth
Summary: Kagome always thought that coming back to the Feudal Era would mean finally being together with Inuyasha, openly and officially together, but she was the only one. Inuyasha won't never endanger Kagome, even if that means forcing himself to stay away from Kagome. One of them will have to change their mind. OS/Postcanon.


**Disclaimer** : I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. And I do not intent to gain any kind of retribution for this work of fanfiction.

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 **The Secret**

After Kagome came back to them, she thought that she and Inuyasha were on the same page. That she had come back to be with him, she meant WITH him as in a committed relationship and not just with Inuyasha taking care of her from afar. Soon she realized he didn't think the same.

When she asked him where they were going to build their house, he had given her the glare as if she had asked for something forbidden. He had taken her to a private place and explained to her that as a Miko in training she was not supposed to have that kind of relationship and it didn't matter how much she told him she didn't care, he didn't listen.

Time went by and Kagome tried to convince him that everything would be alright if they were together but he would only get angry at every mention of the idea. And one day he told her that if she couldn't be with him in the way he wanted to, that would mean there was no place for him in the village. He made it clear, that there was no other way for them to be around each other and that if she kept pushing, boing around her was going to be impossible.

Kagome accepted, knowing that if she kept pressuring, he would do something stupid. But she then tried another strategy.

She told him that they wouldn't be in an official relationship that everyone in the village knew about, but she wanted to have something special with him. It took a couple of times to explain it to him and _show him_ what she meant by a secret relationship for him to grasp the idea, and to love it.

According to Inuyasha, nobody knew about them, but the whole village could see him light up like a lantern every time he saw her, and everyone knew that they had to stay away from the forest when their protector went 'scouting' during the night and the young miko went to "gather nightly herbs" at the same time.

Everyone adult in the village knew there was something between them and, with the protectiveness of a parent, they left them alone to figure out the little things of their relationship and gave them enough time for them to come forth and announce it openly.

Their first trips to the woods were something that didn't differ much from their usual time alone, just letting themselves be a little closer than usual and their voices less careful. Just enjoying their time together. In their heads, it was something close to what a husband and wife shared at home late at night.

It was Kagome who started to push the boundaries that had remained unsaid, trying to erase that line he had drawn. She was the one asking for more time. Asking for them to sit closer, and eventually to become more physical.

Their first kiss was around the little stream that ran deep in the woods, where they could dip their feet and keep themselves fresh in the humid heat of the summer. She had turned to him and raised her hand and slowly touched his ear, letting her hand slowly drift to his face, moving her fingers as if she was drawing his features, first the arch of his brow, the shape of his eye, the slight bump of his nose, the corner of his lip, to end up tracing the angle of his jaw and cupping his cheek. He had remained in some kind of trance as soon as she touched him so delicately, so lovingly that when she pulled his face close to her, his whole body reciprocated pulling her to him.

After that night, it became clear how this new part of their relationship was a door to something new, something they couldn't wait to explore. The deeper the kisses went, the more they wanted to be closer. It didn't take much for them to get into what Inuyasha called "dangerous territory", which for Kagome meant sex.

They danced around it a couple of times. Deep down it knowing it was another kind of door. Something that meant a step they couldn't go back from, but in their heads, sure that this was the most they could get from their relationship, they let their heart and bodies take the lead, not regretting it for a second.

After that, Inuyasha started to get a little more territorial of her. She could be working in the field, gathering herbs alone, and everything was alright. But when other unmarried men wanted to help her he would suddenly appear beside her, making it impossible for other men to touch her.

In one of their trips to the woods she decided to say something.

"You have to dial down your attitude around the villagers..." she told him as he prepared a fish to grill for dinner.

Without turning he asked, "What do you mean by 'dial down'?"

She huffed at his oblivious tone, "I mean that you need to cool off..."

"Cool?"

He walked back to their fire and placed the fish to let it roast before sitting beside her, or better yet, behind her, letting his legs surround her and pulling her close so she could rest her back on his chest. It was something he had picked up soon after their trips to the woods started. Kagome took a deep breath, not letting him get away with the innocent act.

"I'm telling you that those rude actions towards the men around me are not acceptable."

The half demon grunted. "I'm not doing nothin' wrong."

"You can't keep shoving people when they want to give me something or when they sit around me!"

"Keh! They should know that they can't touch the miko."

Kagome turned in his arms to give him a disbelieving stare. "YOU! you! How can you say that when after you shove them you pick me up and take me to Kaede!?"

He huffed as his eyes avoided hers. "That's different..."

"Why?" she pulled a lock of his hair until he stared at her. "Because I'm your lover? That's why it's different?"

Both of their faces were red as she kept talking.

"Because that doesn't matter..." she let the words sink in before she carried on " because according to them, we are nothing more than the protectors of the village... we are not something special to each other... Just as you wanted."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something a couple of times but nothing came out. She turned back to the fire as she searched for his hands to hold.

"If you still want to keep this a secret you must behave, but if you want people to know... I'm okay with that too."

They remained in silence as the fish finished cooking and they ate. When he disposed of the waste Kagome was ready to go back to the village. The moon had already reached its zenith long ago, and she was surprised when Inuyasha kneeled beside her, with his bangs shielding his eyes from hers.

He slowly came closer until he was nuzzling her neck.

"I'll be careful, don't worry..." his voice gentle and somewhat sad as he stayed there, as if he was asking permission to do anything else. Which she answered by pulling him closer to her until they were laying on the bed he always prepared for them.

-.-.-.-

The months went by and their routine solidified. They went to 'work' everyday, where Kagome did everything that Kaede had been doing for decades. The elder miko has slowly been giving the young miko more responsibilities in the village. For Inuyasha, work could mean both scouting the woods and getting rid of menacing presences or helping with things like harvest or repairs. When the sun disappeared from the sky, it meant it was time to go to Kaede's for dinner, where sometimes it was only the couple and the elderly woman, some other times with Shippou if he was in town and rarely with the monk's family. After everything was ready for the next day they took their leave, always using excuses that no one seemed to refute. Not after one time Inuyasha got a little too intense with Miroku when he implied it was a lie and the half demon went beyond snarling and practically pinned him to the wall, asking if he was trying to say Kagome was lying. Making obvious how much the hanyou hated the implication.

After that, it became clear their nightly duties were a touchy subject.

This time it was different. She had decided not to go to Kaede's for dinner and wait for him in their usual place as she thought about something that she had hoped wouldn't become an issue that soon.

She was fairly sure that she was pregnant. She hadn't bled for almost two moons and her breasts felt weird. There was no other symptoms and it was way too soon for her body to show.

When Inuyasha came to their usual place, his brow was low and he walked to her stopping just before reaching her. A slow smile came to her lips but remained unanswered.

"Why didn't you have dinner with us?" he asked as he lowered himself by the fire that was yet to be started.

"I felt a little queasy and came to relax here..."

In an instant he was beside her, asking what was wrong with her, sniffing her from head to toe.

"You do smell weird, not like sickness though," he said distractedly as he took a water container from his robes.

After that the night happened as it usually did. With Inuyasha hunting something small for later, this time for her dinner, and as she usually did, she waited for the meal to be over to say something.

He pulled her close to lie down saying grumpily that she was feeling bad so they needed to rest. Snuggled in the warmth of his chest she finally gathered the courage to say something.

"Inuyasha..."

"Hmm?" he didn't open his eyes but she knew she had his full attention by the way his ears had moved.

"What do you think about babies?" she said in a whisper, meant to cover her quivering voice.

"Noisy and smelly," he answered simply. "Why?"

"I was thinking... and wondering... about babies."

Inuyasha grunted again. "What is there to think about?"

"Well... I was wondering if... if."

He pulled back to see her face. She was fiddling with the ends of his clothes.

"If what?"

"If you wanted kids..."

Inuyasha felt his whole body go cold. It was a question he could not answer with what he sometimes wished for. He had to answer according to what he had decided long ago, what was best for the both of them.

Closing his eyes, he pushed back with all his strength the image of Kagome holding a baby with doggy ears. His heart bled as he reminded himself what he had seen. He pushed forth the memories why he had decided to make their relationship something private. He would never put Kagome in a position to be thrown away from the village, hurt and alone. It was impossible to forget the images of the woman that he had found on the road, dying alone as nobody helped because she was the whore of a Youkai. It didn't matter what happened to him, Kagome needed to be safe. She needed to be accepted and protected by the people here. He was not going to be naive like his father thinking he alone was enough to protect her. Inuyasha knew how that could end.

Even as his own heart broke as he uttered the words, he answered.

"Never. I don't want kids. Not even with you. I will never have any."

Kagome's breath halted at that moment. It was not only because of his words. They left no doubt about his sincerity conviction about it, but it was the absolute lack of emotion when he said it that had shocked her. It was as if it was written on a stone... with no chance of changing. And with that she knew there was no need to have a conversation. There was no need to waste any more time with the subject.

Inuyasha studied her face as she nodded, her eyes full of pain as she stood up and quietly told him that she would walk to Kaede's first. No goodnight kiss or hug. Only a whispered "rest well" before walking away.

-.-.-.-.-

During the following weeks Kagome tried to make everything seem normal, do what she would normally do even if she felt differently, but there were things that she could not ignore and neither could he.

The cramps and the pain in her breast were something she could cover with the excuse of her period, but the vomiting... that she couldn't hide, even less when he was beside her for every meal.

The first couple of times she blamed it on a stomach flu, on a very weird type of stomach flu. Then she started to make her own food, saying she wasn't hungry at regular hours and then blaming it on her inability to make good food. Then something weird happened. It was Inuyasha who came up with stupid reasons for it.

One day he would say, "I told you to stop chewing on that weird root yesterday!", then the next day would be, "Stop putting that stupid leaf in the stews already!" or even "You need to stop pigging out at night and then starve during the day! That's what's making you sick!"

At the beginning, it was something that she could easily deal with. Being an ass about some problem that he couldn't fix or help was Inuyasha Standard Procedure, but his remarks began to change into something more hurtful.

On a certain morning, she was emptying her stomach for a third time that day and it was still hours away from noon; she was way too sweaty and tired to think about something other than drinking fresh water; he found her with her hand resting on a tree and bent down waiting for the final round of heaves to pass.

"I swear Kagome, I don't know if you are doing this on purpose..."

She hadn't been the most level-headed person on a normal day, but at that especial moment, the little comment got her furious, lava-like kind of hot headed.

"You fucking think I'm doing this to myself?!" She started shouting to him as she straightened up and walked to him to poke his chest as hard as she dared without hurting her finger.

Maybe if she was not as exhausted and angry as she was she could have seen the tension in his arms and the wrinkles on the corners of his lips. The pain hidden in his eyes, but it flew over her head as she kept pushing him backwards.

"What? You think that this is something I like to be doing every day, all day?! Does it look fun to you?! You know what? Next time I have to puke, I'll look for you and do it all over your stupid self. I'll share my fun moments with you! What do you think? Do you like that idea?"

Even she could hear the hysteria in her own voice, but she couldn't stop.

"I think that way you could see how fun it is to just spit out your own intestines!"

"That's disgusting, Kagome." His tone was dry, as if he was reprimanding a misbehaving child and that pissed her off even more.

"I don't care what you think. I don't even want to see your face right now!" Everything she had been keeping inside started to escape in the form she had hoped it wouldn't. "I can't even see you without feeling sick! I don't feel good being around you! GO! I don't need you here! I don't want ypu here!"

Part of her hoped that he would finally ask what was wrong with her. That he would try to talk to her, instead of the growing silence full of unsaid things that hung between them; but she should have known better, after all this was Inuyasha.

He nodded once and said, "Understood, Kagome," before jumping back into the woods.

If he didn't hear her call him back as she cried or if he ignored her, she didn't know, but his absence hurt all the same.

-.-.-.-.-

Kagome waited for him in their usual place that night but he didn't come, neither did he appear late that night at Kaede's. In fact, Kagome didn't see his face for a few days.

Sometimes she was able to see his red figure running through the woods as he worked. Sometimes she could see him working in the fields, but as soon as she walked to him he would disappear.

Even like that she waited for him every night at the usual place. It had been over a week since they the last crossed paths. The need to know what was happening and why she lost control was the only thing that pushed her to go there every night.

She was thinking about how her hakamas were starting to be a little too tight when she felt him, more than saw him, walk to her. His eyes were downcast and he didn't walk all the way to her, just entered the clearing and stopped.

"Inuyasha..." she whispered and he answered with a nod.

After a fast look around he went directly to the fireplace without saying a word. Only after the fire was warming and lighting the place did he speak.

"I'm going on a trip to the south." His hands were in his sleeves and his eyes were still on the ground, and his voice was flat as he kept explaining, "I just wanted to let you know so you can be alert. Miroku is staying so you can ask him for help. The villagers think it'll take three moons, maybe more..." his eyes finally searched for hers as he delivered the last sentence. "Do what you have to do and be safe, please."

Kagome found herself walking towards him as fast as she could. "But... but you can't go. You are the protector of the village!" She wanted to say much more, to explain exactly why he couldn't go.

"It won't be that long… I'll be back before you know it."

"But... but... we... I... you..." Her throat got so tight that her voice became breathy and high pitched.

He took a couple of steps closer, enough to cup her cheek and tilt it enough for him to rest his forehead on hers, and when he spoke he sounded more like the Inuyasha she knew.

"I'm not leaving here forever... just for two moons... The village really needs to trade things there, we are running out of important shit... I'll always come back to you." He whispered the last part.

"I know that, but you don't have to go." Her words became urgent as she kept talking, "You need to stay, we need to talk. I need to tell you some things."

Slowly he moved his head to the side and gently nuzzled her cheek until he ended up burying his face in the crook of her neck. Her arms came around him. After a deep breath he moved back, breaking contact from her, in more than one way.

When he spoke again his eyes were remote and his voice was clear and flat again. "I'll go and help the people and when I come back we can talk about... what-everything you want to tell me..." He turned around before ending with, "Take care of yourself... I'll come back soon".

Before Kagome had time to say something he jumped away from the clearing.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Their trip had started before the sun had come out the next day, with a handful of villagers and a couple of carts full of goods to trade.

Soon it became obvious that he didn't want to do the trip. That walking away from her was more difficult than he expected, but this was not only for him, it was for the village he protected and for Kagome.

This trip was to give Kagome time to do what she had to do without his presence around.

It took much longer than expected, he had never traveled with that many humans and turns out that they moved much more slowly than his gang and they exasperated him much more than his friends. Those humans were not even half as strong or dedicated as his friends, and they asked for break time more often than a cat slept.

Soon three moons came and went and he couldn't wait more to go back. They finally reached their home as the sun set, four nights before the fourth new moon since their trip started. He helped the men to get their goods to the village's granaries and depositories. He even helped to take the medicinal herbs to Kaede, both to finish his work faster and to have a legitimate reason to look for Kagome.

On the walk to Kaede's he searched for signs of how things had gone during the past few months. No houses were torn down, that meant no bad storms swept the place; the kids were returning from the meadows, that meant most of them were healthy. The sight of many small smoke columns from the houses meant they had enough food.

His heart started beating a little faster when he realized that Kagome was not with the kids that were coming back from their playgrounds; neither was she coming back to Kaede's home. The few people that crossed his path just shook their heads before going on their way, without a single word of welcome.

Huffing, he got to Kaede's house and realized it was empty. As he left the boxes that contained the ointments and herbs she had asked for, he sniffed the air finding that there was no new smell from Kagome, as if she hadn't been there for a while.

With his brows hanging low he decided to look for her around the village on his own, not wanting to hear anything from the monk and the slayer. They had made it clear that they didn't approve of his little trip and he was in no mood to listen to their stupid opinions without seeing her.

Walking around the village he realized that the only thing that seemed to have changed was that now there was a small house close to the forest, around the place he once wanted to build his. The one that would never be built. The house he had designed in his head during those years they were separated, when he was free to think about everything he wanted without worrying about the consequences.

Someone had taken that place... the place that was closest to the Goshinboku without being in his forest.

The sky was dark and there were still no signs of Kagome walking on the footpads or her voice in any of the houses around him. He was both lucky and unlucky when he found Shippou walking back from the Goshinboku's direction.

It had been a long time since he saw the kid and just watching Shippou walk towards him put a smile in his face. Instead of answering his smile or even saying something rude to him, the boy just kept walking past him.

"Hey, runt!"

He called to Shippo before picking him up from the tail, letting the little boy thrash hanging from his hand. Among the usual, "Stupid. Idiot. Dog," he said other things that didn't make sense to him. Something about leaving her alone to deal with everything. Not manning up and escaping from his responsibilities. Those things didn't make sense because he hadn't run away, he was still doing his work as a protector.

Inuyasha didn't have the patience to deal with the boy and just asked, "Where's Kagome?"

For an answer Shippou only grunted and crossed his arms, giving him a dark look.

He repeated the question, this time shaking Shippo with each word, "Runt, where's Kagome?"

Giving him an evil smile, Shippou said, "Home."

The half demon shook his head, already upset for not being able to find her on his own. "She's not THERE! I just went to Kaede's and she wasn't there."

The kid gave him another wicked smile. "Of course not, I didn't say Kaede's home, I meant HER home."

"What?"

"Ohh! That's right! You were gone too many moons... the villagers made it for her."

Even if he didn't understand why they would do that. Inuyasha let the kid fall to the ground and asked, "Where?"

Shippou rolled his eyes. "Guess, genius."

Leaving the boy behind, Inuyasha started to walk towards the newest hut. He was sure that if Kagome could choose a place to build her house, that would be it. He reached the house much faster than expected.

He didn't need to enter the house to know something had changed. He scented the place and let out a breath that had been holding when it became clear there wasn't anybody else with her. Even like that and without a real reason his heart started to pound inside his chest and ears, making it almost impossible for him to listen to the soft humming tune she was singing.

As he tried to calm his heart before announcing his presence, Inuyasha was dimly aware of the song being finished, and even if it seemed to be a good moment to come in, his feet were not moving, suddenly their weight was too much for his legs. He heard her take a long deep breath, and unconsciously he tried to imitate her, but his chest felt too heavy.

What if she was still mad at him? What if she didn't want to see him? What if she had moved on? What if this house was the way to say she wanted a normal... and hanyou-less kind of normal life? His ears started to pound again as his panic grew. It was a miracle that he was able to hear at that moment.

"You can come in... if you want..." her voice reached him in the form of a soft whisper.

And he felt his heart skip a beat with the sound. His mind raced as he tried to find something to say... something like: "You shouldn't be here alone!" "What if something bad happens to you!?" "Are you fucking crazy?!" Maybe an "I missed you" or a "did you miss me half as much as I missed you?!" But not even a croak came out of his lips.

His feet had their own will as they made their way through her door. His arm pushed aside the mat and he stepped inside.

The sight in front of him left him speechless. It was better than the most perfect fantasy he ever dared to have. She was sitting at the end of the futon, with a cozy sleeping yukata of the softest blue he had ever seen, her shape slightly distorted by the fire that was right in front of her. She had a thin blanket on her lap and her wavy hair spread over her front as she calmly brushed it.

"I-I" He stuttered without knowing what the rest of the sentence was about.

"You took longer than I expected..."

He only blinked at her soft voice and she kept talking, "I was starting to think you were not coming back."

"Is that why you got this house?" He whispered back with that kind of sound that carried the words but hid the tremble of his voice.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm here because it was the right time, and they gave it to me as payment and gift. But that is not important." She gave him another smile and pointed at her right. "Sit and have tea. Seeing you that close to the door makes me think you'll run away again."

He almost growled at her veiled accusation but he slowly moved to the fire and sat down, not beside her but on the other side of the fire. Without asking for permission he took a mug and served himself tea, keeping it in his hands knowing it would be too hot for him to drink right now.

She kept brushing her hair and he kept looking at her with short and fast side glances admiring how much it had grown. As she brushed it carefully it almost reached her knees.

"How was your trip?"

Inuyasha made an inarticulate sound that meant "not especially bad or good" and Kagome nodded.

He gulped the tea until the mug was empty again, but the almost painful pressure on his chest and stomach didn't go away. The silence between them stretched and became heavier as Kagome stared at him for a long time without saying anything until finally she started to braid her hair. When she finished she looked at him again, with those grave eyes.

"I know we should talk about the elephant in the room... but today was really long, my feet are killing me and I seriously need to rest my back... so can we keep pretending everything is alright and discuss it tomorrow?"

He frowned as his eyes finally met hers again.

"What are you talking about?"

The smile she had been trying to keep faded with his words.

"I know you're not stupid Inuyasha. You know what I'm talking about... just as I know why you ran away."

"I didn't run away! I'm here!"

She let out a short dry laugh. "That I can see." She raised her arms. "Now help me up. I don't want you to see me roll to bed."

He was instantly on his feet pulling her up before her words were processed.

She slowly stood up and as the blanket fell to the floor it became impossible for him to pretend it was the reason why her belly looked rounded.

She let go of his hands and smoothed the yukata around her, avoiding his eyes as she carefully walked to the thickest part of the futon. She rested her hand on the wall as she lowered herself again. Inuyasha was still frozen in place, with his arms raised in a weird position; only his eyes moved, following her body as she tried to find a position to lay down.

He heard her whisper in a way that was almost silent, "I would ask how I look if I wasn't scared of your answer."

She finally settled herself on the futon and looked at him again, with her eyes full of unshed tears. Feeling the pull of those eyes, and a powerful need to disappear the sadness in them he walked to her bed and kneeled beside her.

"You-you look pregnant?"

Kagome smiled again, and as her eyes narrowed because of it, a tear went down her cheek.

His hand darted to it and caught it as his eyes were still captured by hers.

"You're asking me? I know I look pregnant, Inuyasha." Her hand stroked her distended belly. "I AM pregnant... but you already knew that."

His eyes were wide as he shook his head energetically "I didn't!... I... didn't"

Her hand wrapped around the one he still had on her cheek. "It's alright... I'm not mad at you. I'm not even angry about it." She let her thumb caress the back of his hand as she pulled his hand close t her chest so she could hold his hand with both of hers. "During these months you were away..." she focused her eyes on their joined hands "I had time to think, you know? About many things, and I know everything happened too fast for you... it was too much, too fast and you weren't ready... after all, you never wanted a family." Another smile adorned her face but for some reason it was worse than seeing her cry.

"But now you're back. We can take things slowly, alright? At your own pace..."

Inuyasha shook his head again. "NO!"

Kagome winced but tried to cover it with another hollow smile. "That's alright too. I won't make you do anything you don't want..." She took a deep, long breath and with her eyes still shiny with tears she told him, "I would like to be alone right no-" Her voice broke and she tried again, "You can come back to-tomorrow... I-If you want."

The pain that had invaded him kept growing as Kagome tried to bite back her crying, and before he knew what he was saying everything started to come out.

"I didn't run from you! I was afraid of what you would do when you found out! You were the youngest miko of the village. It's not like you could just announce that you were with child! I stayed away so you could do what you had to if you wanted to..." his voice broke and he looked away from her before the tears that he had tried to keep from falling escaped.

His throat was tight again as he tried to explain himself.

"I wanted you to be safe... even if that meant not being with you anymore. I-I wanted you to be able to make the decision without my presence... so you could do what you really wanted, want it had to be done... but I couldn't stay away anymore... I was not going to make it, I planned to stay away four moons but I couldn't. I needed to see YOU."

He heard her grunt and then she let go of his hand. He felt her grab at his thigh and knew she was trying to sit. He offered his hand without turning but she slapped it away.

"I don't even know what I feel about you right now..." Kagome said in between sobs and that made him look at her again.

She glared at him as she finally was able to sit and hit his thigh hard. "I want to hit you for thinking I cared about those things and for even considering there was any kind of decision to make about it..." his eyes drifted to the side as she swiped her tears away.

"But I also want to hug you and kiss you for being your stupid self... I missed you too much. I needed you too much."

His eyes darted back to her face not knowing what to do.

She took a long shivering breath as she stared at her belly and stroked it tenderly.

"I-I just need to know something..." her eyes were hidden by her bangs as she talked.

"What is it?" He found himself whispering expectantly.

"Do you want to be part of this? I know you came back for me... but is this too much for you?"  
Her eyes searched his face for any kind of sign that could tell her the answer.

He tried to smile but his lips kept trembling too much to keep it. "I'm not going anywhere... I told you that."

She made a face, "That doesn't answer my question..."

Inuyasha opened his arms and scooped her up, moving them so her back rested on his chest and his rested on the wall. He let his arms go around her and his face dipped in the crook of her neck before he breathed in deeply.

"I missed you so much..." he said into her hair.

Kagome let herself rest on his chest, feeling more relaxed than she had felt in months. "I'm gonna keep asking, you know..."

He growled softly in his chest and hid his face further into her hair. "Alright... I DO want this with you. I always wanted it, but I wasn't going to make it difficult for you because of that...You are the miko of this place and I was not going to make you lose your place. It didn't matter how much I wanted it."

Kagome only nodded, satisfied with his answer, for now. It was a good way to start working on the issues that had not been truly discussed before. She knew this was the first step of many, but it was one that gave her hope.

Neither of them talked for a while, just stared at the fire together. Inuyasha tried to master the courage to touch her belly. Not sure if he needed to ask permission to do it, but it was no longer a problem when Kagome took his twitchy hands and pulled them to the place he was trying to get close to. "He is moving a lot tonight"

He felt something weird under his hands. "He?"

"Yep, only boys are as rowdy as this one is." She said with a playful smile in her face.

His chest became warm with pride as Kagome told him every single reason why she thought their baby was a He.

"I missed you," she repeated, this time looking directly into his eyes. And he let his face come slowly closer to kiss her. Giving her enough time to deny him if she wanted, but true to herself Kagome huffed and brought her hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer.

The softness of her lips had not changed, neither the raw emotion that caused in him. Even if it stayed slow and tender he could feel the heat invading him. When it became difficult to keep the position, he let go of her lips and growled softly in the way he knew she liked as he nuzzled her cheek and neck.

Kagome patted his hands. "Why don't we lay down and I tell you what you missed?"

Inuyasha nodded and helped her get back to the same position she had before. And when Kagome lifted the covers he didn't hesitate in following her there. It took them a while to find a position where she felt comfortable and that didn't break the contact with his body. It was a little uncomfortable for him but there was no way he was going to say anything about it. Not after she let out a long heartfelt sigh as her back cracked softly and she partially rested her weight on him.

"OK, so Shippou got himself one girlfriend... and two weeks later he got a second one and he learned the hard way how things don't work like that..."

As Kagome kept talking about the things that happened during his absence, he could only thank the fates for her huge heart.

When she started to pat around her, he strained his head to see her face.

She turned her head and whispered, "I want to hold your hand."

He complied and let her pull him into a partial embrace. He felt her fall asleep and he enjoyed the way she didn't let go of him even like that.

That night he didn't sleep at all... he was too busy thinking about everything he needed her to tell him about the time he was gone. Not about the village but about her.

As the sun started to come up he could only sigh in relief. It had not been a dream.

 **The end.**

 **A/N:**

 **This story is a little more angsty that what I usually write, but it got a happy ending and I hope that was enough to make it less sad.**

 **Thank you so much for reading, writing your opinion about the story and liking it. Reading what you think about it is always awesome.**

 **Thank you again.**

 **Also, a big hug to my friends that helped me to fix the story enough to be readable.**

 **Love,**

 **Nanna**


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